Spain Park

Spain Park is a former public park on Acton Creek, accessed from Valleydale Road in Shelby County. It was donated to the City of Birmingham by the Spain family in 1963 and operated primarily as a nursery. In the late 1970s a proposal was considered to operate a breeding facility for hoofstock for the Birmingham Zoo at the park. A full-time caretaker was housed rent-free on the property to keep it secure. In 1989 the city considered purchasing the adjacent Camp Spain property to expand the park area.

When the City of Birmingham attempted to formally annex the property into the city in the early 1990s, the move was denied by the Alabama State Legislature on the grounds that the property was disconnected from the city. In 1992 Birmingham used that precedent to challenge Vestavia Hills' annexation of the non-contiguous Liberty Park subdivision. In 1995 the legislature overruled the court by specifically allowing Vestavia Hills' annexation.

The unincorporated property was subsequently annexed into the City of Hoover in a negotiated deal with USS Real Estate and Birmingham. It was divided up for development of campuses for Jefferson State Community College and Spain Park High School (completed in 2001). The remaining 82 acres of open land was dedicated as Hoover/Shelby Park and the Spain Park Sports Complex (now Veterans Park).

References

• "Park board to accept bids for fencing of Spain Park" (1973) The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
• Higley, Stephen R. (July 7, 2007) "Liberty Park, Alabama". The Higley 1000